Finding

WSA Has Not Developed an

Electronic Records Program

Governments
are increasingly creating records electronically.

In the early
1990’s, nationwide information resource and records management professionals
identified addressing electronic records as a top priority. Nearly
a decade later, however, WSA has only a nominal electronic records program
and very limited input into state information technology
decision-making.This places state records
at risk, since with the proliferation of technology, government agencies and
employees are increasingly creating records electronically.Without electronic records management
guidance, the state lacks assurances that these records are adequately
collected and organized to facilitate their preservation, retrieval, use, and
disposition.

WSA Lacks Meaningful Input in

State Technology Decisions

WSA’s representation is on a third-level information
technology panel.

WSA does not
have significant influence in the state’s information resource policy
arena.It lacks representation on the
statutorily created Information Technology Oversight Panel (W.S. 9-2-1018),
which establishes the standards that guide state government computer
purchases.Nor does it have
representation on the Information Technology Review Committee that reviews
agency requests and makes recommendations to the Oversight Panel.WSA’s representation is on a third-level
committee of technology representatives from all agencies who share information.

Records
retention requirements should be addressed in the planning phase of new
information systems.

WSA
is not necessarily involved in the planning of new systems.

The National
Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA), a
professional association that advocates sound practices and innovative
programs for government records, stresses the importance of asserting
archives and records management concerns in states’ information resource
management policy arenas.Decisions
made at the state level have critical implications for the accessibility and
management of government records.Archivists and records managers need to participate in shaping state
policies to ensure that records-related issues are addressed in the
development and operation of new information systems.The creation, management, and use of
electronic information entail high levels of expenditures, and this
information needs to be managed so that it can best serve both government and
the public.

NAGARA states
that to ensure the preservation of electronic records of long-term value,
records retention requirements should be addressed in the planning and design
stages of new information systems.However, WSA officials told us that when state agencies institute
information systems, they typically are not aware that there are records
issues involved.WSA does not believe
it has the authority to demand involvement in planning discussions for these
systems, and it participates only at the request of agencies.In some cases, WSA learns about agency
information management system plans and then attempts to “get their foot in
the door.”

Without the archives and
records management perspective in technology decisions, the state may expend
funds on systems that do not address records needs.Agencies may create records on electronic information systems
that will most likely become obsolete, leaving the records stored in them
inaccessible.Records stored
electronically and scheduled as permanent or for long periods must be
periodically “migrated” to formats compatible with subsequent systems.Migration strategies are expensive, and
may only be cost-effective if the records will be heavily used.Further, if agencies fail to routinely
migrate the records they store electronically, the records could be lost.

WSA Progress in Establishing an Electronic Records Program Has Been
Minimal

Adapting
practices to accommodate electronic formats has been an issue since the
1990s.

WSA’s
program consists of one electronics records analyst to serve both state and
local government.

WSA
has developed an electronic imaging policy for local governments.

WSA
does not want state agencies to consider electronic records as different from
paper records.

National and
state records professionals have endorsed the need for archives and records
management programs to adapt their practices to accommodate electronic
formats.The National Association of
State Information Resource Executives (NASIRE) recognized the retention and
disposition of government electronic records as one of the most important
information policy issues of the 1990’s.The 1995 Wyoming SHRAB Reportstated
that WSA should take the lead in addressing the long-term preservation and
access of computerized records.

However, WSA
acknowledges that it has not progressed far in developing an electronic
records program.Its program consists
of one electronic records analyst hired in 1997 to assist both state and
local government agencies with electronic records issues.In addition, this staff member schedules
paper records and develops WSA automation projects, such as data-based
finding aides for permanent records.

WSA’s
electronic records program is primarily one of offering consultation to state
agencies on request.WSA helps
agencies identify and evaluate information stored electronically, and develop
plans to protect these records.However, the single electronic records analyst provides these services
only when invited to do so, and acknowledges that if every agency called, “I
would never get it all done.”

Two
policies form the core of the existing WSA electronic records program.The most recent is the State of Wyoming
E-mail Policy, issued in December 1999 through Executive Order.The policy’s purpose is to ensure
professional use of e-mail and the preservation of public records created
through e-mail.WSA staff helped
draft this policy and provide training on it.

WSA has also
developed an electronic imaging policy for political subdivisions.With WSA approval, local governments may
convert non-permanent paper records to digitized, electronic images, as long
as they ensure their integrity for the duration of paper record retention
period.Electronic records appraised
as permanent must be converted to paper or microfilmed.

No Overall State Guidance for
Electronic Records.While it has a policy instructing local governments on how to
identify and control electronic records, WSA has not developed overall electronic records guidance for
state government.WSA allows state
agencies to maintain non-permanent records in the electronic format, but it
has not developed guidelines for this practice.WSA does not want state government personnel to consider
electronic records as different from paper records.WSA staff view the electronic format as a processing medium
only, with paper copies serving as the records.

But, as the current
Archivist of the United States acknowledges, the reality at the beginning of
the 21st century is that most records are created electronically
and may be maintained in a variety of media.WSA cannot assume that agencies will always convert electronic records
to paper, and therefore, needs to develop guidance to enable agencies to
maintain records electronically until their legal disposition.

Many State Records Created Electronically Are
Likely Unscheduled

Electronic
information that has not been managed and filed will be lost to the state.

Furthermore, WSA
officials themselves acknowledge that state employees are creating records
electronically, and that those records are going unscheduled and
unpreserved.With the increasing use
of personal computers, individual staff members have greater control over the
creation of records and may be the only ones ever to see them.

Direct creation
of records by executive, professional, and technical staff increases the
likelihood that paper file copies will not
be prepared.As those staff members
leave, electronic information that has not been managed and filed, either
electronically or in paper files, will be lost to the state.Agency efficiency may be impaired because
information and records are not available.Government accountability will suffer ifagencies
are less able to respond to legislative and public inquiries.

WSA’s limited
program for assisting agencies in managing electronic records may translate
into unnecessary reliance by state government on paper record retention.For example, although the electronic
format is not approved for long-term storage because there are no standards
of permanency for electronic media, it is an alternative for short-term
records (retentions of one to five years).WSA estimates that more than 9,000 cubic feet of the records stored in
the records center are short-term, using that definition.If WSA had
a viable approach to training agencies to manage electronic records, some of
these could be maintained in that format.

Shifting storage from
the paper to the electronic format could decrease the need for paper records
storage.Doing so might increase
state costs for computer storage capacity, although
the state may already be maintaining much of that capacity.WSA staff believes that, lacking a system
for managing electronic records, state employees are main- taining both the
paper and electronic copies of the same information,
even after the records are no longer needed for current business.

WSA Has Not Marshaled Existing
Resources to Develop an Electronic Records Program

WSA
struggles to maintain existing, paper-based programs.

Without
a SHRAB, WSA has been unable to access federal grants for electronic records
projects.

WSA officials
cite a lack of resources as the reason it is not able to progress in developing
an electronic records program.The
SHRAB report also noted that WSA lacked the resources to take the lead in
electronic records.The WSA position
is that it struggles to maintain current programs with existing
resources.Developing an electronic
records program, officials maintain, would require additional positions and
funds for training.

Although
additional resources may be required, WSA has not made electronic records a
priority and shifted existing resources to provide agencies with the training
they need to begin managing some of their records electronically.Instead, it struggles to maintain existing paper-based
programs.Furthermore, to meet other
needs, it diverts its few electronic records resources from program
development.The single position
allocated to electronic records has other program respon-sibilities related
to scheduling paper records and to addressing internal automation issues.

Finally, because the
state has not maintained a SHRAB, WSA has not been able to access grant
opportunities used by other states to plan and develop an electronic records
program.Several states have received
grants from the NHPRC to fund electronic records programs.For example, Minnesota received a
two-year, $90,000 grant to establish electronic records pilot programs with
two agencies.The Mississippi program
received a $172,000 grant for a two-year project to establish an electronic
records program in conjunction with the design and move to a new state
archives building.Alaska received a $10,000
grant for an electronic records consultancy.

Records management programs
placed in historical agencies may have less influence.

The literature
reviewed for this project suggests that the positioning of a program such as WSA may affect its ability to
participate in or otherwise influence information technology decisions.A report on programsnationwide notes that when they are
independent agencies, or housed in the departments of administration (where
information authority often resides), they are more likely to have influence
in this arena.The report notes that
placing these programs in historical agencies runs the danger of
marginalizing them as merely cultural niceties and not essential to the
functioning of government.

The
Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources is not solely an historical
agency, but many of its programs have that or a cultural characteristic.Furthermore, by calling itself the “Wyoming State Archives,” WSA
assumes an historical focus to those unfamiliar with records management and
potentially creates confusion about its role.In practice, the department director notes that WSA has a general
government function.

Recommendation:WSA should focus on developing its
electronic records program.

WSA
needs cooperation and support from government managers and information
technology staff.

WSA
must shift its focus from maintaining the traditional paper system.

The SHRAB report
stated that WSA must take the lead in addressing long-term preservation and
access of computerized records.No
program other than WSA will draw attention to the archival challenges posed
by electronic records.This is a
complex issue, and a costly one because of the expense entailed in the
migration of electronic records necessary to keep them accessible.To address this issue, WSA must have the
cooperation and support of government managers and information technology
staff, as well as of staff that create and maintain records electronically.Therefore, WSA and its parent department must be more assertive in
expressing electronic records management needs and the consequences of not
addressing them.Requesting representation
on higher-level state information technology panels would be a start.

At the same time,
however, WSA should make developing a viable electronic records program for
short-term recordsa priority, and shift its
focus from maintaining the traditional paper system.WSA has taken the first steps by applying
for funding to re-establish the SHRAB.This will open opportunities to obtain funding for a consultant to
help WSA design its approach, and perhaps to implement some of the recommended
steps.If WSA ultimately needs more
funding to develop and maintain an electronic records program, it will be a
stronger position to make the request if it has already reallocated existing
resources to the extent it can.